The replay value may be this game's biggest highlight. I've beaten it 5 times over and there is still a craving in me for more. So far, I've done an all-lie playthrough, an all-truth + one weapon only playthrough (the starter broadsword), 2 runs just messing around in NG+, and most recently a no-consumable run. I've also max upgraded every weapon and the P(ee) Organ/ skill tree, and actively avoided one achievement required for 100% just so I could justify doing a no-heal. All 5 runs were done without the cube and summons, which feel disconnected from what wood otherwise be a near-flawless, tightly knit combat system. The rest of said system fortunately remains quite engaging and multi-faceted. Something that greatly contributes to its replayability is how it incentivises experimentation in combat. Sticking to one strategy throughout will not work, I learned that the hard way. The weapon crafting and robot arms lead to possibly hundreds of fun builds and synergies, and a lot of mechanics like durability and status ailments that seem annoying and padded on at first, liar and interact very well later on as fights get more complex. Dodging, rolling and strafing are all viable, and switching between them is always better than sticking to only one, it just looks and feels awesome to pull off.
The lack of any real exploration and extreme level linearity is a little disappointing, but most semi-open world type games get tiring anyway at a certain point if not done properly, so more of a focus on fight encounters is appreciated. Speaking of which, the roster of bosses and trash mobs is nearly spotless. They spared no expense when it came to the creature designs, that's for sure. I love how there are such wacky enemy types that show up for one level and never again, it's a measured and context-driven nature to the encounters that lead to an impressive variety when it comes to enemy designs and the scenarios; it keeps the levels fresh and carries the immersion when the level layout isn’t quite there. Bosses, mini and major, are consistently excellent, disappointing Door Guardian aside. Some of my favorite character designs in recent memory, as well as immaculate animation work. Very readable attacks and strings have unique but intuitive rhythms that are super satisfying to master, plus how moves flow into each other is almost seamless. Nameless Puppet, Laxasia, and Victor are standout favorites. I am tempted to name more, but I won't for brevity. Scrapped Watchman.
To end on by far the biggest surprise, the music is fantastic. While the soundtrack in-game is nothing too special as most of them are standard orchestral tracks that feel too imitative of you-know-who (they shall go unnamed because I am sick of the constant comparisons), the hub jukebox selection is astoundingly good, so much better than it had to be. Truthfully, I can say the same for the game as a whole. Fantastic.
The lack of any real exploration and extreme level linearity is a little disappointing, but most semi-open world type games get tiring anyway at a certain point if not done properly, so more of a focus on fight encounters is appreciated. Speaking of which, the roster of bosses and trash mobs is nearly spotless. They spared no expense when it came to the creature designs, that's for sure. I love how there are such wacky enemy types that show up for one level and never again, it's a measured and context-driven nature to the encounters that lead to an impressive variety when it comes to enemy designs and the scenarios; it keeps the levels fresh and carries the immersion when the level layout isn’t quite there. Bosses, mini and major, are consistently excellent, disappointing Door Guardian aside. Some of my favorite character designs in recent memory, as well as immaculate animation work. Very readable attacks and strings have unique but intuitive rhythms that are super satisfying to master, plus how moves flow into each other is almost seamless. Nameless Puppet, Laxasia, and Victor are standout favorites. I am tempted to name more, but I won't for brevity. Scrapped Watchman.
To end on by far the biggest surprise, the music is fantastic. While the soundtrack in-game is nothing too special as most of them are standard orchestral tracks that feel too imitative of you-know-who (they shall go unnamed because I am sick of the constant comparisons), the hub jukebox selection is astoundingly good, so much better than it had to be. Truthfully, I can say the same for the game as a whole. Fantastic.